Capitol Agenda for the Week of Aug. 27: The LeBron James of Trucking

By now you know that on Aug. 18, Scott Woodrome earned the blue ribbon at the National Truck Driving Championships.

Back in May, after taking home the grand champion title at the Ohio truck safety tournament, Woodrome had mentioned to Transport Topics that his colleagues would often refer to him as “the LeBron James of Trucking.” The comparison to the basketball superstar, on the part of family, friends and coworkers, was made because they would see him arrive early and stay late at work. Behavior similar to that of LeBron James, Woodrome explained. He would practice his safety drills in the truck on the weekends. Or, as Woodrome put it, he would put in “perfect practices,” and train truck maneuvers hundreds of times. In the lead up to the national tournament, Woodrome would visualize traversing effortlessly through the course’s technical problems.

Woodrome’s hard work speaks for itself. He has thrice won the Ohio tournament. Thirteen times he has qualified for nationals. He won national titles in 2015 (flatbed) and 2017 (tanker). And, en route to his best in show this year, Woodrome surpassed his fellow FedEx Freighter and 2012 national grand champion, Kansas’ Don Logan.

After the first game of this year’s NBA Finals, James arrived early to the arena to work on his long-range shot for several hours. The exercise was a way to fine-tune his lethal jumper. The Cavs eventually fell short to the Warriors. Yet, fans of the game remember James’ trademark commitment to excellence, drive to win and ability to make his teammates better players.

James and Woodrome actually are similar. They are both from Ohio. They spend countless hours practicing. They seem to always take part in the finals. And their teammates benefit from their leadership. Actually, if you stop and think about it, it could be fair to call James “The Scott Woodrome of Basketball.”

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

BIG WINNER: At an elaborate banquet at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, Ohio’s Scott Woodrome was named this year’s Bendix Grand Champion, defeating 423 elite truckers from around the country in a grueling four-day competition.

BUZZ:

On Aug. 18, the FedEx team cheered for each other as the winners were announced at NTDC’s awards banquet. Before walking to the stage for his award in the sleeper berth class, New Jersey’s Artur Lesniowski of FedEx Ground, whose birthday fell on the same day as the banquet, was hugged by Woodrome and Logan. On stage, as his colleagues chanted “happy birthday,” Lesniowski approached the microphone to say, “Thank you.”